Hello!

I have just started my first ever campaign of Rogue Trader (we just wrapped up session #3) as a Navigator. After having a peruse of the Navigator Powers in the Core book and Into the Storm I can't help but notice that many of them seem potentially interesting if rather situational (Void Watcher, for instance). Some of them also don't appear to get properly "viable" until Adept level. Factoring in that I am only able to take (or upgrade) 1 Navigator Power per rank I can't see myself ever spending my Navigator Power on some of the "softer" or more situational powers. I guess the crux of the matter is that it feels way too expensive, not in terms of exp, but in terms of the limited Power advancements, to go buying something that might never get used or not be super useful.

So with that in mind I was thinking asking our GM to allow me to take 1 additional Navigator Power at every even rank (so 2, 4, 6, 8) for the same (or more?) exp cost, but limiting it so I can only buy Novice Powers and not upgrade existing Powers. And possibly no combat Powers? Any thoughts on whether that is going to be game breaking or or not would be appreciated.

Unnecessary. Game breaking? Maybe. Depends on the other players. Navigator powers are icing. The character concept is everything. Role-playing is the staple.

Vague enough?

It's true that some of the pure Navigation powers aren't going to be particularly useful most of the time, at least compared to the ship/hand-to-hand combat powers. On the other hand, Navigator Powers are incredible: your basic power becomes a Save-Or-Die, which no one else gets. As Errant Knight points out, you will still have enough at your handicap, plus if you look into Alternate Ranks, that your character will be fleshed out enough for this. If anything, the fact that you're going on adventures means you aren't the kind of Navigator who spends decades honing your third eye, but the kind who goes out and oppresses the rest of the Imperium in the best possible way.

As a general note, my Astropath in my almost 3-year campaign made this same argument to me about how his advancement was too slow, and asked if he could speed it up. I said yes. I regret this every day I have to watch him look up the latest power he's going to use and then watch him one-shot everything in sight.

Right, which is why I'm trying to think of a fair system that isn't game breaking but allows greater flexibility and a broader set of options.

As a general note, my Astropath in my almost 3-year campaign made this same argument to me about how his advancement was too slow, and asked if he could speed it up. I said yes. I regret this every day I have to watch him look up the latest power he's going to use and then watch him one-shot everything in sight.

Even if it was limited to "non-combat" Navigator Powers, as I state above? Void Watcher, Tracks in the Stars, Refresh and Revitalize, Obliterating the Immaterial Wake for instance. Most of them powers that I'm unlikely to pick up due to the limited options to do so and the general manner in which the Navigator Powers scale (more value from upgrading than having a swathe of Novice level Powers), but which might situationally add a lot of flavour.

While situational, some of those powers are extremely useful, especially Refresh and Revitalize. Even if you don't want this for munchkining purposes, it does create a rather unique Lore situation for you which I'm not a fan of. You could take care of this by picking one Navigator power, and then having an NPC backup Navigator on board (in case yours gets killed on an away mission) who could use this power at a Novice level. Repeat this acquisition test for each power you want to acquire.

Alternatively, what I'd be willing to propose to you as a GM is if you created an interesting enough background for a Radical House, then I'd let you re-train your powers at half the cost for the purchase at the beginning of a session (or more likely an adventure) in order to retrain any Navigator Power you've bought to represent your body mutating. It would really open up your flexibility, but prevent you from having a swiss-army toolbox at your disposal at all times.